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Shaft - Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi, Gordon Parks

Threat advisory: Severe - Severe risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

The mob wanted Harlem back. They got Shaft... up to here.

Super-cool private eye John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) is heading to work through Greenwich Village when a shoe-shine boy warns him that two hoodlums are lying in wait at his office. Shaft surprises them and coolly throws one to his death through the window. He holds the other until he admits they were sent by Harlem gangster, Bumpy Jonas (Moses Gunn).

At the police precinct, Shaft is interviewed by Victor Androzzi (Charles Cioffi), a long-suffering white cop. Androzzi believes something big is about to erupt in the underworld and gives Shaft 24 hours to investigate, threatening to revoke his license if he doesn't comply.

Bumpy Jonas surprises Shaft by calling to ask for his help in finding his daughter, Marcy (Sherri Brewer), who has disappeared. Jonas claims that Ben Buford (Christopher St John), the leader of a black militant organisation, is behind Marcy's kidnapping.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film crime police detective kidnap blaxploitation 1970s

Persons of interest

Richard Roundtree .... John Shaft
Moses Gunn .... Bumpy Jonas
Charles Cioffi .... Vic Androzzi
Christopher St John .... Ben Buford
Gwenn Mitchell .... Ellie Moore
Lawrence Pressman .... Sergeant Tom Hannon
Victor Arnold .... Charlie
Sherri Brewer .... Marcy
Rex Robbins .... Rollie
Camille Yarbrough .... Dina Greene
Margaret Warncke .... Linda
Joseph Leon .... Byron Leibowitz
Arnold Johnson .... Cul
Dominic Barto .... Patsy
George Strus .... Carmen
Edmund Hashim .... Lee
Drew Bundini Brown .... Willy
Tommy Lane .... Leroy
Al Kirk .... Sims
Ernest Tidyman .... Author
John DF Black .... Screenwriter
Ernest Tidyman .... Screenwriter
Gordon Parks .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Awards and film festivals:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS - Oscars) 1971: Best song (Isaac Hayes)

See also Shaft in Africa, Shaft's big score
Studios and distributors:

Warner Bros * Roadshow Films

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

"Where you going, Shaft?"

"To get laid. Where you goin'?"

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

That's one hell of an attitude. And you know that there's going to be attitude as soon as you hear that fine piece of music coming out o' yo' speakers da-da-dum, da-da-dum, da-da-dum, dum... it's one of the greatest motion picture themes ever written. It's one of the greatest pieces of music ever written. It's Mozart for the modern age, sex for your sense of sound.

Richard Roundtree is truly the king of blaxploitation. He's angry, he's tough, he's sexy, he's rough, he's funny, he's hard, he's horny and he's garbed. And black. Did I mention black? Watch this DVD and you can see the roots of the modern African-American culture: hip hop, gangsta rap, The original kings of comedy, crackheads, the ghetto and more mean mother-fuckers than you can shake your stick at. Shaft revels in the primal heat of its characters: sex, violence, action, honour, sweat, blood. Ain't none of this film taking place in the suburbs.

If you have any sense of cool you have to see this film.

Media intelligence (DVD)

Audio: Mono 1.0
Disc: Dual sides
Picture: Side A regular 4:3 - Side B Widescreen 16:9
Languages: English, Italian, French
Subtitles: English, French, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Romanian, Bulgarian, English and Italian captions
Trailer